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Monday, August 4, 2014

Ready. Set. WRITE! (Week 9)

1. How I did on last week's goals: My goal was to write every day on Chain Gang, my main WIP, and not be sidetracked by the MG and short. And I did it! Every day I pulled CG up and worked on it for a total of 7,300 words.

2. My goals for this week: Same thing.

3. A fav line(s) from my WIP:

“Why are you telling me this?”

A breeze ruffles my hair across my face. I’m slow in tucking it away. “Because…I thought…you could come with me.” My voice is small, as insignificant as our perch on the side of the megalith.

He gathers my hair into his fist at the side of my neck. His knuckles are warm, pressing into my pulse. “I want to be with you, Tam. But your ‘plan’ is suicide.”

The cool derision in his voice hits me like a slap in the face.

4. The biggest challenge I faced this week: Burn out. I'm in the homestretch, but perversely it feels like every word is pushing me farther back. A new scene will beget a new scene will beget a new scene and now that I'm drawing to a close, I'm finding all sorts of ends that need tied up. Stop it ends, stop it!

5. Something I love about my WIP: I've said it once, but I'll say it again: my main guy character, Darcy(that's him sounding like a class A jerk in the above excerpt, btw). I get butterflies even just typing his name! How pathetic is that? I've liked my other guy characters perfectly well, but there is just something about Darcy that's gotten under my skin. I'm thinking maybe b/c I dreamed him? {In the same dream that I got the idea for Chain Gang from.}

Before I go, here's a new pic I pinned to my Chain Gang storyboard. I'm a sucker for white lights!

{Like truly, if there were a support group for white light lovers, I should join.}

42 comments:

I like your little snippet! It's tricky to have to tie everything up when you get to the end of your WIP. There's actually one part of my book that I DIDN'T tie up--but on purpose...I'm hoping I can get away with it.

Love the snippet! And congrats on all the words this week! I have the same problem with a lot of my stories - new scenes begetting new scenes? Sometimes I have to just jot down those threads and see if I really need them when I start revisions. Good luck! And congrats on winning the care package!

Congrats on achieving your goals this week, and for such a great snippet!

I wrote NO new words on my WIP for a week. I came close to making the decision to abandon it altogether. But then my husband returned from his lengthy business trip and talked me out of it by convincing me that, yeah this draft really sucks, but the science behind it is valid and interesting and I have new ideas now that will make a future draft unique, but only if I find my way to the end of the story.

So, just like you are seeing that each scene begets new scenes you hadn't planned on but need to be written, I am making up my mind to write chapters I know I won't need, containing characters I know will get cut, just to find my way to the end of this darn story. It's going to be a really ugly lump of coal, but without it I can never make a diamond.

I love how much of a support your husband is for you in your writing. He sounds like such a great guy! And absolutely, you can't revise nothing. Keep pushing and I know you're going to break through it!

FANTASTIC snippet! and I hear you on endings...they really stink because then you realize you've got to go back and revise--which is an exciting prospect when drafting but then you're actually revising and it's like ugghhh lol. <~~ my professional summary of writing lmao

I wonder why we just click w/some on that level? I know it's not b/c Darcy's a lot like me- b/c he sure isn't! Maybe that's the reason why? Hmm...Maybe it's just b/c he's super good looking and has muscles. I'm not shallow at all, lol!

Awesome on your word count, Leandra! Great snippet, too! I think it's also great that your guy character gets under your skin. That just means he feels real to you, and that's wonderful. I often feel that way, that my characters are real, and just maybe, that they exist somewhere out there in this or another Universe. I'm transcribing their stories, not just making it up.

Good luck with wrapping things up. Just take it one little bit at a time. You'll get there! :)

That's so cute that you're so attached to your main boy! =) Hope your husband doesn't get jealous. ;) And congrats on making so much progress. You can always tie up the loose ends in your revision. Don't sweat it!

Ooo, that's such a good excerpt! I love the tension and how it's clear Darcy has both a good and bad effect on her. You did a super job on your goals again this week! Good luck tying up all those loose ends. That's such a tall order, and one I'm facing right now too--not with the end of a manuscript but with a trilogy. You can do it!

Oh, and btw, I got the guitar charm in the mail! Thanks for sending that! :)

Wow! Great word count this week!!! And I love your excerpt, AND the fact that you're totally crushing on your character. I totally get that, and I DO think it's because they're more real when they come directly from your dreams. We may want to start a support club for that as well!

Oh, I love the picture! So evocative. I think I have the same challenge in my WIP. I've outlined pretty well, but when I'm actually writing the scenes, it unspools like an out of control ball of yarn being batted around by a catnip crazed kitten. Wow. That sentence was a bit out of control. *need more coffee*